Shake Heard Round The World

So what’s a president to do?

President Barack Obama went to South Africa last week to mark the passing of Nelson Mandela, joining world leaders that included British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and India’s President Pranab Mukherjee. Media outlets reported as many as 70 heads of state attended the ceremony.

They were there to pay respects to the memory of a man whose actions, and inaction, changed a nation.

Mandela spent a lifetime - including 27 years behind prison walls - fighting institutional racism known as apartheid. For a time viewed as a terrorist, he embraced nonviolence as a mechanism for change and eventually became South Africa’s first black president and the first democratically elected president.

In the midst of the tributes to Mandela, President Obama had the audacity to shake Raul Castro’s hand.

And the 24-hour news channels went on about “the handshake” for hours.

Yes, Cuba and the United States haven’t had diplomatic relations since 1961 and our nation continues an economic embargo against the island nation, but it’s a memorial service. Can’t one human greet another human for a moment out of politeness? Was the president supposed to snub Castro? That would have been even more of a disaster and seen by international observers as petty.

Funerals and memorial services often are, or should be, apropos moments to set aside the conflicts of the past, at least for a few moments, to treat others with the respect worthy of the person being memorialized. I’m not saying Cuba and the U.S. ought to become fast allies, but when one is in South Africa to remember a man of reconciliation, it seems a handshake between adversaries is the slightest of gestures one might make.

It’s not like Obama embraced Castro and took a “selfie” with his phone.


If, heaven forbid, Northwest Arkansas ever has to go through a schoolhouse shooting like the one Friday in Colorado, I hope our police chiefs and sheriffs will have spent some time observing the response of Sheriff Grayson Robinson.

Not much more than an hour after authorities were notified of a shooter, Robinson stood before cameras and reporters and answered rapid-fire questions with matter-of fact responses that gave the community, through the media, confidence law enforcement was on top of the challenge.

There is a real art to dealing with media when violence strikes a community. Talk to many law enforcement officers and you’ll soon discover a real hesitance to engage reporters. Law enforcement agencies appoint “public information officers” as both a conduit of information and a buffer between reporters and on-the-ground investigators who have the direct knowledge of what’s happened. Sometimes, the standard response in stress-filled situations is to shut down information and become antagonistic to the reporters whose jobs involve getting valuable information to readers and listeners.

Since the advent of public information officers, most officers get scant opportunity to speak with reporters and sharpen their skills in being interviewed.

It’s a skill agencies should seek to develop, not avoid.

With Robinson, who retires next month after 42 years in law enforcement, the world saw a sheriff who was responsive to questions, confidently knowledgeable, rapidly available and composed, with real information that provided answers about what had happened. I got the sense Robinson at that moment had the correct view - he and the media were united in the goal of helping people understand a frightening event in their midst. There was no antagonism or irritation that reporters asked questions.

I’ve seen less candor and facts in press conferences some agencies have had days to prepare for.

Robinson’s presentation served the public well.

That said, I have such high respect for the men and women who put their lives on the line in protecting the public.

Friday’s response in Colorado demonstrated the value of training for local law enforcement agencies as they serve our communities.

GREG HARTON IS OPINION PAGE EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 12/16/2013

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